Physical activity levels and associated socio-demographic factors in Bangladeshi adults: a cross-sectional study

Abstract

BackgroundLow level of physical activity (PA) has become an important public health problem even in low-income countries. The objectives of this study were to measure PA levels, determine the prevalence of low PA and identify socio-demographic factors associated with it in Bangladeshi adults.MethodsData from 792 (urban, 395; rural, 397) Bangladeshi adults (25–64 years) were included in this population-based cross-sectional study conducted in 2011. Global Physical Activity Questionnaire version 2 (GPAQ-2) was used to measure PA. The metabolic equivalent task (MET) in minutes per week was calculated to determine total PA. Participants were categorized into low, moderate and high PA groups. Logistic regression was used to assess socio-demographic factors associated with low level of PA.ResultsMedian MET-minute of total PA per week was almost double in the rural area (1720) than the urban area (960). The overall prevalence of low PA was 50.3% (95% CI: 46.8–53.8), urban 59.5% (54.7–64.3) and rural 41.9% (37.0–46.8). Women in general were more inactive (women 63.1% [58.3–67.9], men 39.3% [34.6–44.0]). The main contributions to total PA were from work (urban 40.0%, rural 77.0%) and active commute (57.0%, 21.0%). Leisure-time PA represented a very small proportion (<3.0%). Multiple logistic regressions found a significant association of urban residence (OR = 2.2; 95% CI: 1.5–3.2), women (2.1; 1.4–3.9), oldest age group 55–64 years (15.6; 7.5–32.2) compared to youngest age group 25–34 years, graduation or further education (8.6; 4.1–17.7), and higher socio-economic class (2.4; 1.4–4.2) compared to poor with insufficient PA.ConclusionsThis study identifies low PA in a rural and urban population in Bangladesh and that further large-scale population studies are warranted.

Mediators of the association between low socioeconomic status and poor glycemic control among type 2 diabetics in Bangladesh

“…Furthermore, health-related behaviors tend to differ according to SES. There is an extensive body of research investigating the relationship between SES and adverse health-related behaviors in both developed [8][9][10][11] and developing countries [12][13][14] . Results found that low SES is associated not only with tobacco use 12 , but also with physical inactivity 8,13 , nonadherence to medication 9,14 , and an unhealthy diet 10,11 .…”

Physical inactivity and associated factors in adults of a basic health unit: An observational cross-sectional study

“…Physical activity (PA) has become an important public health issue for developed and developing countries, such as Brazil (1,2) , because its regular practice is capable of providing health and well-being benefits, leading to a reduction in mortality rates and minimizing the development of noncommunicable diseases number, such as cardiovascular diseases (3,4,5) . The World Health Organization characterizes physical inactivity (PI) as the fourth leading risk factor for mortality worldwide and over the years this mortality rate from PI increased from 1.9 million in 2005 (6) to 3.2 million in 2008 (7) and 5.3 million in 2012 (5) .…”

Physical activity, sedentary behaviour and psychological wellbeing among young adults in Bangladesh: A one-year prospective study

“…Young adulthood, from age 18 to 24 years (Jekielek & Brown 2005), A few studies have reported correlates of PA in Bangladeshi populations. A recent study with Bangladeshi adults aged 25-64 years found that being female, being a stay-athome mother, higher education attainment (e.g., secondary or tertiary level) and high socio-economic status (e.g., being affluent) were negatively associated with PA (Moniruzzaman et al 2017). A recent study with Bangladeshi adolescents aged 13-17 years reported that walking to school, having sports equipment at home were positively associated with PA in both boys and girls .…”

“…According to a global estimation in 2010 by the World Health Organization (WHO), approximately 23% of adults aged 18 years or more did not meet the WHO recommendations of at least 150 minutes/week of moderate-intensity or 75 minutes/week vigorous-intensity activity, or an equivalent combination of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity(WHO n.d.). In the WHO South-East Asian region, 15% of adults were not meeting the WHO recommended levels of physical activity(WHO n.d.).According to the World Health Organization (WHO), physical inactivity is the fourth leading risk factor for global mortality(Brymer & Davids 2016;Dumith et al 2011), and evidence suggests that inactivity related deaths have increased over the years(Moniruzzaman et al 2017). In 2008, 3.2 million of global deaths per annum were attributable to physical inactivity(Brymer & Davids 2016), which increased to 5.3 million global deaths per annum as per the most recent estimate in 2012(Lee et al 2012).Insufficient levels of physical activity have significant implications for the public health burden associated with non-communicable diseases.…”

“…The percentage of participants not meeting physical activity recommendations in our study was higher than in previous studies with other age groups in Bangladesh using the same survey instrument (GPAQ). Those studies found that 27% to 52% of the participants aged ≥25 years did not meet the recommendations(Mohan et al 2016;Moniruzzaman et al 2017;Moniruzzaman et al 2016;Zaman et al 2015).…”